Georgia CommonsHB 1483: Civil practice; ad valorem taxation of property; prohibit class action suits by taxpayers for refunds
Last action March 6, 2026 · House Second Readers
A Georgia House bill would bar taxpayers from banding together in class action lawsuits to seek refunds of property taxes or license fees from counties and cities, requiring each taxpayer to pursue a refund individually.
The summaries below were written by an AI model (claude-sonnet-5) from the text of the bill and are not part of it. Quote the text, not the summary. The stored text is the Introduced version, the latest LegiScan holds.
In plain language
Under current Georgia law, taxpayers who believe they were overcharged on property taxes or local license fees can file a claim for a refund with their county or city, and if that is denied or ignored they can sue. This bill would change the refund process by adding a new rule to O.C.G.A. § 48-5-380 saying that no claim, action, or suit for a refund can be brought on behalf of a class of other taxpayers. The bill also amends Georgia's general class action rule (O.C.G.A. § 9-11-23) to carve out an exception for these tax refund cases, so that the usual court approval process for class action settlements would no longer apply when the new no-class-action rule is in play. The rest of the existing refund process (filing deadlines, the 90 day waiting period, the five year cap on suits) stays the same. The law would take effect as soon as the Governor signs it or it otherwise becomes law without his signature.
What the bill does
- Adds a new subsection (h) to O.C.G.A. § 48-5-380 stating that a claim, action, or suit for a tax or fee refund cannot be brought on behalf of a class of other taxpayers.
- Amends O.C.G.A. § 9-11-23, the state's class action rule, to exempt these tax refund cases from its normal court-approval requirements for class actions.
- Leaves intact the existing individual refund process, including the one or three year filing deadline, the 90 day waiting period, and the five year cap on filing suit.
- Sets the effective date as the moment the Governor signs the bill or it otherwise becomes law without his signature.
Who it affects
Georgia taxpayers who believe they were overcharged on property taxes or local license fees, county and municipal governments that handle refund claims, and attorneys who might otherwise organize group refund lawsuits on behalf of multiple taxpayers.
Why it matters
Taxpayers who think they were overcharged would still be able to seek a refund, but only on their own behalf, not as part of a group lawsuit. This could make it harder and more expensive for taxpayers with small individual claims to challenge widespread billing errors together.
Key provisions
- Section 1 revises O.C.G.A. § 9-11-23(e) to exempt tax refund cases governed by the new § 48-5-380(h) from the normal class action approval process.
- Section 2 rewrites O.C.G.A. § 48-5-380 and adds subsection (h), which bars class action claims, actions, or suits for tax or fee refunds.
- Section 2 leaves unchanged the existing rules on filing deadlines (subsection (b)), the 90 day stay period (subsection (c)), payment of approved refunds within 60 days (subsection (d)), and the five year cap on filing suit (subsection (g)).
- Section 3 sets the effective date as approval by the Governor or the bill becoming law without his signature.
- Section 4 repeals any conflicting laws.
From the bill
“A claim, action, or suit for refund shall not be submitted or maintained by the taxpayer on behalf of a class consisting of other taxpayers.”
“Under no circumstances may a suit for refund be commenced more than five years from the date of the payment of taxes or fees at issue.”
Status timeline
- House Second Readers (House)
- House First Readers (House)
- House Hopper (House)
Sponsors
- Ron Stephens (R, HD-164)
Topics
- property taxes
- class action lawsuits
- tax refunds
- local government
- civil procedure